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Joseph's work pays off with callup to Yankees

3/11/13: Corban Joseph stretches to make a nice stop on a grounder off the bat of C.J. McElroy and throws to first to record the out

By Bryan Hoch
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MLB.com |

NEW YORK -- Corban Joseph's call to the big leagues came late on Monday, as the Yankees summoned the infielder to the Bronx to replace the injured Kevin Youkilis on the active roster.

"It's crazy," the 24-year-old Joseph said. "It's almost like all of your hard work is finally paying off and you get to enjoy it with your family and your friends that kind of supported you along the way."

A fourth-round selection of the Yankees in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, Joseph played mostly second base at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but will be asked to fill a backup role with New York, also filling in at third base and first base.

"I'm going to give him a chance to play some," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He has to be prepared to play three of the four [infield] positions. I'll give him a chance to play.

"He's played mostly second in his career; we've got a pretty good second baseman over there [in Robinson Cano] that I'm probably not going to sit too many days. But I'm going to get [Joseph] in there."

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that Joseph was promoted because he is on the club's 40-man roster, and that Joseph is most comfortable on the right side of the infield.

The Yankees would have also considered promoting infielder David Adams, but Cashman said Adams is not eligible to move up until May 15 because he was released and then re-signed by the Yankees, so Adams' loss may have been Joseph's gain.

"It's hard to explain because you've always wondered what it's like," Joseph said. "This is the first time that I've ever been called up. There's a lot of adrenaline and excitement and random emotions that you think about the years that you've put the hard work in and how much it has paid off just to get this one chance. It's a great opportunity."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.